McClain is a solid player who plays inside when the Ravens run a 3-4 and outside when the Ravens run a 4-3. On ProFootballFocus, he ranked 22^nd on ProFootballFocus’ outside linebacker rankings. This seems like a pretty reasonable deal for a player who is the definition of average. He got 10.5 million over 3 years.

Grade: B

JaMarcus Russell was released today. For Raiders fans, this is a great day. The only feeling better for a fan of a team than the day your first overall pick bust finally gets cut is actually having your first overall pick pan out. However, for me, this is a sad day. Who am I going to make fun of now? JaMarcus Russell was the worst quarterback in the NFL last year. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse quarterback keep his starting job for longer. I guess the straw that broke the horse’s back was when he showed up weighing 290 pounds (even higher according to some reports) to offseason workouts. I would have thought it would have been when he was eating skittles on the sideline after getting benched, but that’s just me. Plus, he looks like Fat Albert, which is automatically hillarious.

Hey hey hey 

However, like from all things, I have to move on. JaMarcus Russell was great fun to laugh at, but he is not in the NFL anymore. Of course it would help if someone just as awful came along. Hopefully there will be some awful quarterback next year to follow. Let’s look at the candidates.

Trent Edwards- Buffalo Bills

This is assuming he doesn’t get beaten out by Brian Brohm, Ryan Fiztpatrick, or Levi Brown in training camp, in which case any of those 3 quarterback would be potential candidates. Edwards is not an awful quarterback and I think he could be a solid quarterback behind a good offensive line, but the Bills have far from one. In 7 starts last year, Edwards took 23 sacks, part of the reason for why he only started 7 games. He’s a solid accurate quarterback with a 61% completion percentage for his career, but struggles to complete long passes or lead long drives. He had a yard per attempt average last year of 6.4, despite a 60% completion percentage and only threw for 6 touchdowns in 7 starts. In games he started, the Bills scored an average of 13.4 points per game, 10.1 if you don’t count a game against the lowly Bucs. Consquently, the Bills went 1-6 in those games, beating only the Bucs.

Alex Smith

Sure he did fine last year, but that’s largely because he ran a spread offense. If he struggles to grasp the under center offense the Niners will use this year, he could be pretty bad. Remember, in his first 3 years in an under center offense, he was a Russell esque 435 for 800 for 4779 yards, 19 picks and 31 interceptions. It’s not likely, but he could regress and struggle again in that style of offense.

Vince Young

Remember, before last year, he was 444 for 775 for 4964 yards, 22 touchdowns and 32 picks. It’s pretty unlikely, but he could regress.

Matt Stafford

Stafford threw 20 picks last year. This should not be an issue as he was a rookie and even Peyton Manning threw 20+ picks as a rookie, but you never know. He might never rebound. It’s certainly happened before.

Mark Sanchez

Bascially the same as above, but he did show some promise in the playoffs last year and has an amazing supporting cast. I say unlikely, but as a Pats fan I certainly wouldn’t mind.

Josh Freeman

Basically the same deal as Stafford.

Jake Delhomme

Delhomme only has had one bad year in his career, but if he repeats what he did last year, 178 for 321 for 2015 yards, 8 touchdowns and 18 picks, he’ll definitely be pretty close to Russell esque. Also, the fact that he was banished to the Browns is not a sign that his career is going in the right direction.

Byron Leftwich

I actually think Leftwich could do a solid job in Pittsburgh as Big Ben’s replacement for 6 games. He was pretty solid for them in 2008 as a backup in limited action. However, what he has done everywhere else could be cause for concern and cause for possible laughs as he starts 6 games for the Steelers, unless he gets beaten out by Dennis Dixon in camp.

Curtis Painter

Probably will never start for an extended period of time, but maybe Peyton Manning will tear an ACL or something. You never know. Russell may be the worst quarterback I’ve ever seen play a long period of time, but Painter is the worst quarterback I’ve ever seen play for a short period of time. He couldn’t win one game in two tries with a supporting cast that Peyton Manning went 14-0 with, something especially pathetic considering one game he was given a lead to start and another game was against the Bills, who ended up blowing them out. Painter’s 2009 stats: 8 for 28 for 83 yards 0 touchdowns and 2 picks. That’s a solid 9.8 QB rating.

Matt Leinart

Leinart certainly has the supporting cast to be good, not to mention a lot of success in college, but he hasn’t done well in the past and he had all of those things then too. Maybe two years on the bench behind Kurt Warner have matured him, because that seemed to be his biggest issue last time he started, but last time he played, it wasn’t pretty. In his career he is 340 for 595 for 3983 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 20 picks. Even last year, in the few games he played as a backup, he threw 3 picks to 0 touchdowns and had a YPA of 5.6

Charlie Whitehurst

I want to give Pete Carroll the benefit of the doubt here. He really seems to like this kid. He traded the equivilant of 2 3^rd rounders for him. However, he’s a 28 year old former 3^rd round pick who has never thrown a pass in the NFL, so I have my doubts. It might be too much to hope that he’ll be completely awful and I can laugh at him, but hey, I can dream.

Jason Campbell

Why not? I happen to think Campbell will do awesome in Oakland (assuming we’re grading on a curve). He hasn’t been anywhere near as bad as people think he is and the Raiders’ scheme fits his arm well. However, maybe the Raiders’ will suck the life right out of him. Maybe they’ll let him do whatever he wants and he’ll gain 50 pounds. Plus, the Raiders are probably the only team on this list that would start an awful quarterback for long enough for it to be true comedy.

Jay Cutler

The NFL leader in interceptions last year with 27, which is automatically hillarious. He has an awesome arm and should only get better with time as he becomes more familiar with the Bears’ offense, but you never know. That 5 interception performance against the Niners last year was one of the funniest non-Russell moments of the year.

Good to see the Broncos are actually focusing on needs this offseason. They were awful against the run last year and their lack of a true nose tackle had a lot to do with that. Williams has his flaws; that’s why the Chargers cut him. He’s 34 and coming off of a major injury, but with so few nose tackles on the market and in the draft, they almost needed to sign him. He should be a nice 2 year stop gap and 16 million over 3 years isn’t a ton to pay for a 2 year stopgap at one of the most important positions on a 3-4 defense. They could still draft a nose tackle this year if one falls to them, but they no longer are tied to the position and have to make a reach. They can instead focus on filling other front 7 needs and getting some help at receiver.

Grade: B+

This deal is a bit complicated so before I give grades, I’m going to break it down for you. Washington already owes Philadelphia either their 4^th or 3^rd round pick in 2011, based on Donovan McNabb’s performance, as a result of the McNabb deal a few months back. If Washington sends Philly their 3^rd, which happens if Washington wins 9 games, makes the playoffs, or McNabb makes the Pro Bowl, they would send New Orleans their 4^th and get a 7^th rounder from New Orleans. If Washington sends Philly their 4^th, New Orleans gets Washington’s 3^rd and send a 5^th back to Washington. If Brown makes the Pro Bowl this year, Washington gets New Orleans’ 2012 6th rounder.

Trade for Washington: Remember when I bashed the Redskins draft because they took a high upside project left tackle at #4 over the NFL ready guy, despite the fact that this team was already built to win in the present. That moves looks a lot better now. Brown is coming off an injury plagued season in 2009, but he’s one of the best left tackles in the league when healthy and he was well worth the risk of a mid round pick. He can start at left next year for them, allowing Williams to start at right for the time being, and if everything works out well, he can move to right if Williams comes into his own as a player, and the Redskins would have probably the two best bookend tackles in the league. Donovan McNabb must be thrilled.

Grade: A

Trade for New Orleans: They had to move Brown. He wanted a long term deal and they didn’t want to give it to him. They have Jermon Bushrod who was decent in Brown’s absence last year, as well as 2010 2^nd round pick Charles Brown, a talented young left tackle prospect. I would have expected them to get more out of Brown, but they were in a tough position as he was refusing to sign his tender.

Grade: B

Quarterback 

Washington

6-3 231

Draft Board Overall Quarterback Rank: #4

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #80

Rating: 72 (mid 3rd round) 

40 time: 4.52

4/16/11: You’re probably thinking, Locker went 39 of 41, why are you knocking him? He had what was called a “deliberately easy” work out. Do I really want a signal caller who doesn’t challenge himself? Where’s the confidence? It’s also worth noting that the Seahawks were the only ones who sent their head coach to watch him and the Titans were the only ones who had decision makers, upper level executives, there. I would be really surprised if he went 12^th to Minnesota like some are projecting. He’s probably a 2^nd rounder. 

2/15/11: Jake Locker lost a lot of money returning to Washington for his Senior Season. He was being talked about as a potential #1 pick, over Sam Bradford, last year and probably wouldn’t have fallen out of the top 10. The Redskins might have drafted him, as Mike Shanahan admits he really liked Locker as a prospect coming out last year, though the Redskins eventually traded for Donovan McNabb.

Now, he’s being talked about as a potential 2nd or 3rd round pick. I think the absolute highest he’s taken is 10th by the Redskins, who, after a falling out with Donovan McNabb, need a new quarterback. However, I don’t know if they’d use the 10th pick on him because I can’t think of any other team that would draft him in the top 20.

Seattle at 25 makes sense as he’s a hometown kid who played in a system run by Steve Sarkisian at Washington. Sarkisian happens to be a former assistant of Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Someone could always trade up into the bottom of the first round, but if he gets by Washington and Seattle and no one trades up, he’ll fall into the 2nd round.

I was never that high on Locker. I had a 2nd round grade on him last and before he decided to return to Washington, citing his lack of footwork and accuracy. Since returning to Washington, his accuracy problems haven’t improved, at all. His completion percentage dropped from 58.2% to 55.4%. He completed 4-20 against Nebraska. 5-16 in a rematch against Nebraska. 10-21 for 68 yards against UCLA. 7-14 for 64 yards against Stanford. Those are all terrible games.

Lot of people like to blame his lack of elite stats on his supporting cast and though his supporting cast is somewhat to blame, a lot of the blame has to fall on Locker. His footwork is terrible and he often overthrows open receivers. He often misses open receivers entirely in his reads. His accuracy didn’t improve with a better supporting cast at the Senior Bowl, not in practices or the game. He almost kills two receivers on two separate wild throws in the game. 

When asked about his accuracy at the Senior Bowl, about how he’s never completed more than 60% of his passes in a season, he didn’t respond with a reason, like stats don’t show the whole picture. He said it’s because he hasn’t been playing under center for that long, making an excuse (plus he’s been under center for 3 or 4 years, so it’s a bad excuse at that). 

I also question Locker’s leadership. His record at Washington was 15-26, a lot of which does have to fall on the shoulders of the quarterback. He also choose to return to Washington rather than challenging himself at the next level in 2009, which I see as a sign of weakness and lack of confidence. 

What Locker does have is a cannon arm, great athleticism, and mobility, and experience in a Pro Style West Coast offense. However, that doesn’t make him an NFL quarterback. It makes him a project, someone who’s not ready to step in right away. I’m not questioning the upside. I’m questioning whether he’ll ever make good on it.

NFL Comparison: Brian Brohm

I don’t know what happened to Jake Delhomme last year. He literally imploded in on himself and destroyed the Panthers’ chances at the playoffs just a mere few months after they signed him to a massive extension. He completed 56% of his passes, which isn’t awful, but a 6.3 YPA and 18 picks to 8 touchdowns were what really did him in. The Panthers wanted to get rid of him so badly that they cut him this offseason despite the fact that doing so would actually cost them money. All that being said, he’s really only had one bad year. Take away last year and he has 115 career touchdowns to 76 career picks. They aren’t giving up a large of sum to get him and it’s not like they had anyone better on the roster. This move allows the Browns to either trade Brady Quinn and then draft a younger backup with more upside, or keep Quinn as an expensive backup. Who knows, maybe getting cut was exactly what Delhomme needed to get himself right and if that’s the case, the Browns now have a quarterback for the first time in what feels like forever.

Grade: A-

Running Back 

California

5-10 199

40 time: 4.35

Draft board overall prospect rank: #15

Draft board running back rank: #1

Overall rating: 87*

1/17/10: He could fall below CJ Spiller in the draft because of his concussion late in the season, but he’s a more complete player than Spiller. He’s got more explosive legs, he’s a better runner in between the tackles, and his 40 time is probably going to be faster. They are comparable players in terms of pure speed, but Spiller is more of a straight line runner while Best has better running back skills like initial explosion and good change of direction.

                9/6/09: To put it bluntly, Jahvid Best is fast. In terms of game speed, he may be the fastest player in college football. He has an excellent arsenal of quickness, speed, and moves and had a YPC average of 8.1 last season. He’s also a solid pass catcher. At a time with the wildcat and crazy offenses of the sort, speed guys like Best are becoming more and more valuable. Another season like last year’s and Best is probably a first round pick. In a way, Best is similar to Joe McKnight, CJ Spiller, and Noel Divine, the three big name speedsters who could come out this year, but I think he’s faster than all of them in terms of game speed. As for his timed speed, expect it to be somewhere between 4.31-4.35, with a possibility of a sub 4.3 time. Because of his speed, he’s a threat for a big play every time he touches the ball, but he’s also at risk for 1 or 2 yard clunkers every time he touches the ball. He’s not very big at 5-10 195. Normally you like your running backs to be about 200 pounds in the NFL and Best comes up just short. Even Chris Johnson, Tennessee’s speedster, is 200 pounds. He’s not a great in between the tackles runner and might never become an every down back in the NFL, though in an era with running back by committees and the wildcat offense, that doesn’t mean he’s not valuable and that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of going in the first round. He has good hands when means you could line him up in the slot to through off defenses. He has an injury history and had 2 surgeries this offseason, though after his first game this season, in which he had 137 yards on 10 carries and 2 touchdowns, it appears he has shaken those injuries off. Still, with his small frame you have to wonder if he can take an NFL caliber beating. In the end, this guy is a first day lock with his speed and has the potential, with another big season and a big combine, to make the first round, though, at this point, the early 2^nd round seems a little bit more realistic, as he hasn’t proven he can carry the load by himself. His career high for carries in a season is 194 and he only has 233 carries in his whole college career.

NFL Comparison: Jamaal Charles

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Week 15, this team sat at 8-5 needing just a win in Indianapolis to eliminate the Colts from the divisional race and clinch the team’s first playoff berth since 2007. However, they lost that game and then went on to drop their next two, Washington and Houston, to finish 8-8 and once again out of the playoffs.

It’s worth noting that two of their wins were won on last second fluky plays, a Hail Mary vs. Houston week 10, and a 59 yard field goal week 4 vs. Indianapolis. They could have easily been 7-9 or 6-10 with losses in overtime in either of those games. Other than those two wins, it’s worth noting that their best win in terms of opponent winning percentage was a week 14 38-31 home win over the Oakland Raiders who finished 8-8 and even that win took some last second magic.

Their defense is a mess, especially their pass defense. They rank 32^nd in the league against the pass in terms of YPA, dead last, even worse than division rival Houston. That’s no way to consistently beat elite teams. They also can’t get any pressure either, ranking tied for 2^nd worst in the league with a mere 26 sacks (tied with Tampa Bay and only behind Denver).

Offensively, their prized possession is Maurice Jones Drew. MJD, who battled injured all year, still rushed for 1324 yards and received another 317. He only fell short to Arian Foster in the rushing title race because he missed the last two games of the season with injury. Still, he finished 5^th in the league in rushing despite not breaking the 300 carry mark.

However, at quarterback, David Garrard has his good days and his bad days. There have been the occasional cries by fans for him to be benched, but he does turn in some nice performances. Backup Trent Edwards only has bad days so they may be looking for a new backup/quarterback in waiting this offseason. Mike Thomas is their #1 receiver, but he lacks elite size and his compliment Mike Sims Walker is very inconsistent with his play.

9/6/11: The Jacksonville Jaguars have cut David Garrard 5 games before the season starter, further proving they have no plan. If they had decided to get rid of him a month ago, they could have at least gotten a mid rounder for him (Seattle, Miami, etc.) and they would have had a month to get acclimated to Luke McCown as a starting quarterback. Now they have 5 days and got nothing in return for him. This after spending most of their draft to move up to grab a quarterback for the future and then spending 100 million dollars in the offseason for the present.

At the very least, the front office is sending out mixing signals which is always demotivating for the players. On top of that they have a lame duck had head coach who has just been hung out to dry by the front office. Del Rio needs to make the playoffs this season to save his job and all of a sudden, his starting quarterback is gone. They also don’t have a lot of talent. They ranked 32^nd against the pass last season and 30^th against the run (in terms of YPC and YPA). They have a journeyman quarterback, a poor offensive line, go one deep at wide receiver, and their best player, MJD, isn’t 100%. This could easily be the worst team in the league. They remind me of the 2010 Carolina Panthers. 

All the Jaguars had to do was beat the Colts week 15 and they had the division and the playoffs wrapped up with 2 weeks to spare. However, they didn’t beat the Colts week 15. Then they lost week 16. Then they lost week 17. They ended up missing the postseason entirely, finishing 8-8 as the Colts once again won the division.

In the offseason, they took a weird strategy. Through the draft, they built for the distant future trading away their first 2 picks to move up 6 slots to take Blaine Gabbert as their quarterback of the future. As a result of this, they didn’t have very many picks, especially early picks, and they weren’t able to fill any of their needs (cornerback, safety, wide receiver, defensive end).

However, in free agency, they seemed to be building for now, signing Paul Posluszny, Clint Session, and Dawan Landry all to long term deals worth a lot of money. As a result, you have a team built to win now, but with identity issues. Their starting quarterback, David Garrard, no longer has the support of the coaching staff, never a good thing. Even the great Brett Favre went 4-12 the year after the Packers drafted his successor, Aaron Rodgers. Same with Donovan McNabb, who went 8-8 and finished in last place the season after they drafted Kevin Kolb.

The Gabbert pick is going to look genius if he ends up being their franchise quarterback for 10 years, but it’s going to hurt them this year. If Garrard is benched for Gabbert, Gabbert should struggle as a rookie after a lockout. It doesn’t help that I wasn’t high on Gabbert coming out, so naturally I think he’ll struggle.

The quarterback situation isn’t the only problem they have on offense. Maurice Jones Drew has been their best offensive player for years, since Fred Taylor moved on. However, he’s not 100%. He’ll try to play through a knee injury, but it’s safe to say he won’t be quite as good as he normally is. The Jaguars will be hoping backup running back Rashad Jennings can continue his 5.4 career yards per carry average as he gets more work this season.

At wide receiver things don’t get much better. Mike Thomas is their #1 receiver. He’d be a nice #2 receiver, but he’s not a #1. He doesn’t have game breaking speed and he’s not a great red zone target. He’s a nice possession receiver, but that’s it. Opposite him, Jason Hill is penciled in as a starter. Hill has spent 4 bland seasons as a depth receiver for the 49ers and the Jaguars. He’s only a starter because they don’t have anyone better.

Hill will have some competition for his job, but it’s not like the other candidates are too much better. Cecil Shorts is a 4^th round rookie and the favorite to start in the slot. Jarett Dillard was a 5^th rounder in 2009 who caught 6 passes as a rookie and missed all of his 2^nd season with an injury. Tiquan Underwood could also be in the mix. After being solely a special teamer as a 7^th round rookie in 2009, he caught 8 passes last year. So basically, they don’t have a lot of talent at this position.

Their best receiver last year was Marcedes Lewis. Lewis, a former 1^st round pick at tight end, finally broke out as a receiver last season after 4 years of being known simply as a strong blocker. He was 2^nd on the team in receptions and yards and first in touchdowns, in addition to remaining a strong blocker. However, it’s possible he was just playing for a new contract. It remains to be seen if he can put together another good year now that he’s gotten paid.

On the offensive line, things don’t get a ton better. Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton are the two tackles. They were drafted in the 1^st and 2^nd rounds in 2009 respectively, but neither have really lived up to that. Now in their 3^rd year, they’ll need to start playing better. At right guard, they return Uche Nwaneri, a mediocre guard who allowed 5 sacks last season.

At left guard, they signed another mediocre guard, Jason Spitz, formerly a reserve for the Green Bay Packers. It’s possible that 3^rd round pick Will Rackley could take over for either one of these two at some point this season. Their best offensive lineman is Brad Meester, their center. Meester has been an above average offensive lineman for the Jaguars for 11 seasons, but he’s 34 years old and he’s had injury problems in the past so he’s no guarantee.

Defensively, they should be pretty bad once again, especially against the pass. They ranked 32^nd, dead last, in the league in terms of yards per attempt allowed. They spent a lot of money on free agents on the defensive side of the ball, but I think they overpaid all 3 of their big free agent signings. Clint Session is a marginal outside linebacker. Paul Posluszny will start in the middle. He’s a good player, but I think they also overpaid for him, just a bit. Dawan Landry is an upgrade at safety, but he’s not great in coverage so I don’t think he was worth what they paid him.

I don’t know that their pass defense will be much better. They didn’t upgrade their pass rush, their cornerbacks, or the free safety position. All of their money was spent on two linebackers and a strong safety. Don Carey will once again start at free safety next to Landry. He was the 5^th worst safety in the league in terms of quarterback rating allowed. He allowed an 80% completion percentage and 2 touchdowns to one interception, a huge part of the reason why this pass defense was so bad once again.

At cornerback, Rashean Mathis was the 6^th worst cornerback in the league in terms of quarterback rating allowed. He allowed a completion percentage of 59.1% and 5 touchdowns to 1 interception. Derek Cox, the 3^rd year cornerback, might be their best in pass coverage. However, he’s not a #1 cornerback in this league. He’s best off as a #2 or a nickel back. He’s got good ball skills with 8 picks in 2 seasons, but he gives up too many big plays and commits too many penalties.

Their pass coverage might not be so bad if their pass rush wasn’t terrible. After a mere 14 sacks in 2009, the Jaguars signed Aaron Kampman in the offseason. He tore his ACL, his 2^nd such injury in as many years, and the Jaguars only had 26 sacks, once again among the worst in the league. Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves were supposed to be the future at defensive end after being drafted in the 1^st and 2^nd rounds respectively in 2008. Both disappointed and neither are with the team anymore.

The Jaguars signed Matt Roth in free agency, but he hasn’t played in a 4-3 as a pro and he’s not even that great of a pass rusher anyway. Roth should start opposite Kampman, provided Kampman can even stay healthy. If not, they have Jeremy Mincey waiting in the wings. Mincey led the team with 5 sacks last year despite barely playing until Kampman went down.

2^nd and 4^th respectively on their team in sacks last season were Terrance Knighton and Tyson Alualu (Kampman was 3^rd, by the way). Those two will start at defensive tackle. Alualu is a nice pass rusher, but he’s undersized and struggles against the run, a big part of the reason why the Jaguars were 30^th against the run last year. He’s done better than most thought he would after the Jaguars surprisingly drafted him 10^th overall in 2010, but he’s still not a great player.

Knighton, meanwhile, is struggling with weight problems following the lockout. He has yet to even practice. If he’s not ready for the start of the season, the Jaguars don’t have another proven defensive tackle on their roster. D’Anthony Smith was their 3^rd round pick in 2010. He missed his whole rookie season with an Achilles tear, but he still has some upside.

At linebacker, next to Posluszky and Session, the Jaguars will start Daryl Smith. Smith is an above average strong side linebacker. However, I don’t know that Posluszky and Session are necessarily even that much of an upgrade over Justin Durant and Kirk Morrison, their starters at linebacker next to Daryl Smith last season.

Overall, this is going to be one of the worst teams in the league this year. They may have won 8 games last year, but I don’t think they deserved to. One was on a Hail Mary, another on a 59 yard field goal. They had a minus 66 differential, which means they won a lot of close games and lost a lot of games by a big margin. There was a lot of luck involved there. They probably won’t be as lucky this season.

On top of that, they have a starting quarterback who has lost his coach’s and front office’s confidence and a backup quarterback who isn’t ready. Their top offensive player isn’t 100%, their receiving corps go 1 deep and that’s it, their tight end might not give 100% after getting a ton of money, and their offensive line isn’t too good either.

On defense, they still will struggle to defend the pass, a very bad thing in this pass heavy league. They also struggled to stop the run last year and their best run stuffer is out of shape. They allowed the 6^th most points and the 5^th most yards last year and only won games on a combination of their luck and decent offensive play. I don’t think they’ll have either of those things this season. On top of this, they have a lame duck head coach in Jack Del Rio.

Quarterbacks: D

Running backs: B+

Receiving corps: D

Offensive line: C

Run defense: C-

Pass rush: D

Pass coverage: F

Coaching: D

Projection: 2-14 4th in AFC South

Wide Receiver

Blaine Gabbert is pretty bad, but he probably has the least amount of receiving talent to work with of any quarterback in the NFL. Mike Thomas is a #2 receiver at best. Jason Hill was a career journeyman who saw a good amount of starts for this team. Jarett Dillard isn’t great either. Meanwhile, guys like Chastin West, Mike Sims Walker, and Taylor Price were signed off waivers and immediately got playing time even though they were completely unwanted the week before. Cecil Shorts III was their 4^th rounder in 2011. He supposedly has good upside, but it’s pretty bad that he couldn’t even see the field ahead of that bunch of crap receivers. They could reach for a receiver like Kendall Wright with their 7^th overall pick.

Defensive End

The Jaguars perennially rank among the worst in the league in sacks and this year was no exception as they managed just 31. Luckily for them, Jeremy Mincey broke out in a big way this year, with 8 sacks, 38 quarterback pressures, all while playing well against the run. However, opposite him, Matt Roth didn’t offer much of a pass rush at all, though he was solid against the run. He’s a free agent anyway. Meanwhile, Aaron Kampman suffered a season ending injury for the third straight year. He could retire or be an offseason cap casualty. Even if he isn’t, he’s no sure thing going into the future. Defensive ends like Quinton Coples, Whitney Mercilus, Courtney Upshaw, and Melvin Ingram are all players the Jaguars will at least consider with their 7^th overall pick.

Offensive Tackle

If they don’t take a defensive end or a wide receiver at 7, I expect that pick to be Riley Reiff or Jonathan Martin as a right tackle. Guy Whimper was awful last year, allowing 14 sacks at right tackle, despite missing a game and a half with injury. He can’t be allowed to start again. Internal options include Eben Britton (though before his season ending injury, the plan seemed to be to keep him at left guard) and Cameron Bradfield, an undrafted free agent who made one solid late start in Whimper’s absence. If they don’t go with an internal option, they could draft one fairly early.

Cornerback

Derek Cox finally broke out as a very good #1 cornerback this season, allowing just 9 completions to 28 times thrown against. However, he hurt his knee played just 6 games before going on IR. Rashean Mathis also went on IR with a knee injury after tearing his ACL. He’s also a free agent this offseason. Even if he’s resigned, he’ll be a 32 year old declining player coming off a major injury by the start of next season. Likewise, William Middleton is also a free agent. He played well in Cox’s and Mathis’ absence and will need to be resigned. However, even if he is, they still need at least depth at the position.

Quarterback

Blaine Gabbert was absolutely awful last season. However, they have a 1^st and a 2^nd round pick invested him (what it took to trade up for him) so they have to give him another shot. They need a better backup option however.  They hired Greg Olson from Tampa Bay to be their quarterbacks coach so he could bring Josh Johnson with him to backup Gabbert.

Guard

Obviously this becomes a bigger need if they move Eben Britton back from left guard to right tackle. However, rookie 3^rd round pick Will Rackley was awful at right guard last season. They have other needs and he was just a rookie so I think he gets another shot, but they at least need a veteran backup behind him. Rackley could also move to center long term, which would increase their need for a guard.

Safety

They fixed one hole at safety last offseason by signing Dawan Landry, but they still have some questions at free safety. Courtney Greene was awful in 2010 and barely played this season with injuries. In his absence, converted cornerback Dwight Lowery was decent, but he’s a free agent. They have other needs so resigning him is probably their best option. If he signs elsewhere, they probably need one more player either in free agency or in the draft to compete with 2011 4^th round rookie Chris Prosinski and perhaps Greene, who is also a free agent this offseason.

Center

Brad Meester turns 35 before the 2012 NFL Draft. Will Rackley could be the long term solution there. If he isn’t, they may want to look at long term solutions through the draft.